Verb to Be and Present Simple in English
Verb to Be and Present Simple
Verb to Be
Structure: Subject + verb to be + action
Conjugation and Forms:
- I + am (‘m) + am not (‘m not) + Am I…?
- She + is (‘s) + is not (‘s not / isn’t) + Is she…?
- He + is (‘s) + is not (‘s not / isn’t) + Is he…?
- It + is (‘s) + is not (‘s not / isn’t) + Is it…?
- We + are (‘re) + are not (‘re not / aren’t) + Are we…?
- They + are (‘re) + are not (‘re not / aren’t) + Are they…?
- You + are (‘re) + are not (‘re not / aren’t) + Are you…?
Present Simple
The present simple is used to describe habits, facts, states, and regular actions.
Structure (I, You, We, They): Subject + Verb (main action) + Context
- I eat pizza.
- You study English.
- The boys go to the pool.
- Carlos, Sam, and I go to the pool.
Structure (He, She, It): Subject + Verb + s + Rest of the sentence
- The dog eats pizza.
- She studies English.
- Carlos goes to the pool.
Rules for Adding “-es” to Verbs (He, She, It)
We add -es to the base form when the verb ends with ch, sh, s, x, z, o:
- watch – watches
- wish – wishes
- guess – guesses
- fix – fixes
- buzz – buzzes
- go – goes
When the verb ends with y and there is a consonant before it, we drop the y and add -ies:
- fly – flies
When a verb ends with y and there is a vowel before it, we do not drop the y; we just add -s:
- play – plays
When referring to multiple objects, the verb remains unchanged (no -s or -ies is added).
Time Expressions
- always
- often
- sometimes
- seldom
- never
- usually
Prepositions of Time and Place
- At: Used for hours and specific places.
- On: Used for days of the week and addresses.
- In: Used for years, months, and general places.
Auxiliaries: Do/Does and Have/Has
- Do / Don’t: I, You, We, They
- Does / Doesn’t: He, She, It
- Have: I, You, We, They
- Has: He, She, It
Examples
- Do you study English? Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
- Does Carlos study English? Yes, he does. / No, he doesn’t.
Information Questions
Structure: Wh- question word + do/does + pronoun + main verb + context
- What: What does Carlos do at 5 PM?
- Where: Where do you go on Sunday?
- Why: Why do you study English?
- Which one: Which one do you buy?
- How: How do they come to school?